KWS admits to significant decline in elephant numbers in Northern Kenya since last census
KWS RAISES ALARM ON ELEPHANT NUMBERS The recently concluded aerial game survey in Northern Kenya has reportedly come up with some stark declines, in particular for elephant and the Gravy Zebra species. KWS Chief Executive William Kiprono, unlike his predecessor Dr. Julius Kipng’etich who had the EcoTourism Kenya CEO arrested for publicly disagreeing with the […]
Uganda’s tourism fortunes get boost by National Geographic
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NAMES UGANDA IN THEIR GLOBAL TOP 20 DESTINATIONS As 2012 is waning now, and with it Uganda’s accolade as the Lonely Planet Guide Books Number ONE Destination for the year, and the hype fades of reaching the half century mark of Independence from Britain, the country is getting an unexpected but well deserved […]
New tourism parastatals fail to take off in absence of boards
LACK OF BOARD APPOINTMENTS FOR TOURISM PARASTATALS CAUSE OF MORE DISSENT The absence of substantive boards of directors at the newly created tourism parastatals is said to be a further cause of growing dissent within the tourism industry and between senior stakeholders, the associations under which the industry comes together and the tourism minister. The […]
Who keeps slamming the brakes in Mauritius tourism
A reproduction of an intriguing article in Le Mauricien, written by Jean Clement Cangy … Vanilla Islands moving, without Mauritius… JEAN CLÉMENT CANGY, the known and respected Mauritian Journalist writes in popular Le MauricienNewspaper on the 3rd December that Mauritius is suffering more than the other islands of the region from the economic crises of […]
Congo militias suspected in attack on Rwandan gorilla monitoring and research camp
CONGO’S ANTI RWANDA MILITIAS SUSPECTED IN RAID ON GORILLA MONITORING CAMP The attack yesterday morning on the Kazi Camp, operated by the Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund International, which killed one staff and saw others injured, was swiftly denounced by several sources close to the powers that be in Rwanda. Fingers were also immediately pointed to […]
Emirates counters B787 hype with more A380 destinations and frequencies
EMIRATES COUNTERS WITH ADDED A380 DESTINATIONS Emirates sales teams have swiftly reacted across East Africa to the news that arch rival Qatar Airways will launch their new B787 on the route to London from mid December, when the airline announced additional A380 destinations. ‘The Airbus A380 provides the greatest comfort available in the sky today. […]
Serengeti Highway case to start on January 23rd
EACJ WILL HEAR SERENGETI HIGHWAY CASE FROM 23 JAN 2013 The East African Court of Justice in Arusha has last Friday announced the trial date for the case environmental groups have brought against the Tanzanian government over the controversial routing of a planned highway across the Serengeti. The case will commence on January 23rd but […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, First edition December 2012
AVIATION, TOURISM AND CONSERVATION NEWS from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. A weekly roundup of breaking news, reports, travel stories and opinions by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome You can get your daily breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome, join me on www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also ‘cross load’ or […]
Kampala Aero Club partners with Tanzania’s Coastal Aviation
KAMPALA AERO CLUB JOINS HANDS WITH COASTAL TO OFFER FLIGHTS TO SERENGETI Tanzania’s Coastal Aviation and Uganda’s Kampala Aero Club and Flight Training Centre, aka Fly Uganda, will effective 15th December offer a unique link, connecting the great migration of Tanzania’s Serengeti with the prized mountain gorillas in Uganda’s Bwindi National Park. The flights will […]
Another Iljushin crash claims the lives of crew and scores on the ground
ILJUSHIN CRASH KILLS CREW AND SCORES ON GROUND Information is emerging from Brazzaville that an Iljushin 76 cargo plane, owned by Aero Services, while attempting to land at Brazzaville’s international airport, crashed into a housing estate, killing the crew on board and scores of people on the ground as the plane hit, disintegrated and the […]
Mauritius gets its groove back as Emirates goes double daily
EMIRATES TO GO DOUBLE DAILY TO MAURITIUS Starting tomorrow, 02nd December, Emirates will move from presently 11 flights per week between Dubai and Mauritius to 14, making it a double daily affair with the island in time for the forthcoming high season when the holidays start, using a B777 for the extra flights. Mauritius’s hospitality […]
SHTA Chairman speaks out about misgivings of the Seychelles tourism industry
I am re-posting this press release, with particular reference to the comments made by Mr. D’Offay on the issue of direct flights between Paris and Mahe, NOT via Abu Dhabi, and the need to restore Mahe as the Air Seychelles hub and not have it shifted to Abu Dhabi. Questions in fact I asked several […]
Entebbe air show for 15/16 December
ENTEBBE AIRSHOW SET FOR DECEMBER 15/16 Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority is partnering to put together a show case aviation event on the weekend of December 15th and 16th, bringing together the aviation industry to give Ugandans a hands on experience. Air Uganda has already offered to fly disabled children on a special flight on their […]
Qatar Airways to deploy B787 on London route
QATAR AIRWAYS PUSHES LONDON AS FIRST B787 DESTINATION December 13th will see Qatar Airways’ first B787 Dreamliner commence flights to London, an occasion the airlines has been using in Uganda to push for added sales in a hardly contested market place. ‘We are the best in the sky and when the new B787 comes on […]
Seychelles starts countdown to ‘Carnvial International de Victoria 2013’
COUNTDOWN TO CARNIVAL 2013 BEGINS TODAY The third edition of the Carnival International de Victoria will commence the formal countdown this evening in Bel Ombre / Mahe in the presence of the Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St. Ange and the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board Elsia Grandcourt. Invited guests from the tourism […]
AFRAA AGM hears revolutionary ideas about the need for a new Pan African carrier
UNITED WE FLY, DIVIDED WE DON’T? The recently held annual general meeting of AFRAA in Johannesburg sprang a few surprises on delegates and aviation pundits, when none other than Kenya Airways’ CEO Dr. Titus Naikuni had the room go so shtumm that a falling leaf could have been heard, as he floated the idea of […]
New EAC headquarters officially opened in Arusha
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY INAUGURATES NEW HEADQUARTERS IN ARUSHA Years of planning and construction came to a successful conclusion yesterday when President Kikwete, accompanied by Kenya’s President Kibaki and Burundian President Nkurunziza officially launched the new headquarters of the East African Community in Arusha / Tanzania, which were funded entirely by the German government at a […]
Likoni ferries make more negative headlines
BREAKDOWN OR SABOTAGE – LIKONI FERRIES BACK IN THE BAD NEWS When yesterday late afternoon some of the ferries used to connect Mombasa island with the Southern mainland ‘stalled’, stranding tens of thousands of commuters and hundreds of vehicles including tourist busses, suspicion was raised promptly that disgruntled ferry workers, repeatedly on strike and go […]
Rwanda comes 6th in Globe Spots annual ‘hot list’
GLOBE SPOTS PUT RWANDA IN TOP TEN GLOBAL TOURISM DESTINATIONS One of the world’s leading guide publications, Globe Spot, has named Rwanda as their top 6th global destination, the highest scoring African country in their top 10 being Mozambique in second place and Malawi in ninth position. This recognition will likely increase the spotlight on […]
CCTV coming to Nairobi
NAIROBI SET TO INTRODUCE CCTV SURVEILLANCE TO IMPROVE SECURITY Starting in early 2013 will Nairobi’s city centre and key traffic hotspots outside the CBD be covered by CCTV surveillance cameras, aimed to improve security for city residents and visitors alike. Over 50 locations have been selected and the installation, due to start in February next […]
EAC Heads of State to launch new Nairobi – Namanga – Arusha highway
EAC HEADS OF STATE TO FORMALLY OPEN NEW NAMANGA – ARUSHA HIGHWAY Part of the official programme for the upcoming East African Community Head of State Summit in Nairobi will be the formal launch of the new highway, which is linking Nairobi, via Namanga, to Arusha. The project which started back in 2004 brings both […]
EAC membership still some distance away for Juba
SOUTH SUDAN FAILS TO GET THE THUMBS UP FOR EAC MEMBERSHIP ‘They are woefully unprepared to even reach applicant status at this time and their budget woes have not helped them at all. But I think the last nail in their coffin was how they have caused huge financial pains to the business communities in […]
Uganda named as THE birdwatching destination for 2013
UGANDA NAMED AS ‘THE’ BIRDWATCHING DESTINATION FOR 2013 As 2012 is slowly getting ready to hand over to the next year in line a new tagline will take over from the hype of this year, as The Pearl of Africa turned 50 and when the Lonely Planet Guide had named Uganda as their top destination […]
Seychelles safe for tourists say stakeholders in response to media reports
TOURISM STAKEHOLDER QUESTION INTENT BY SECTIONS OF MEDIA Several leading tourism stakeholders have over the past days written, questioning the real intent by sections of the Seychelles media to front page, ahead and during one of the archipelago’s main tourism events, Subios – the Festival of the Sea of allegedly having pirates off Bird Island […]
Mwazo signals exit from parliament at next elections
MWAZO SIGNALS EXIT FROM PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT Kenya’s embattled tourism minister, at odds with the private sector and at loggerheads with the board of directors of the Kenya Tourism Board and its Chief Executive Muriithi Ndegwa, has according to reports received overnight signaled his intention to stand for the post of Senator in his home […]
CCK reduces call termination rates, at last
CCK LOWERS TERMINATION RATES BUT WHO WILL BENEFIT Kenya’s Communications Commission has earlier in the week lowered call termination rates from KShs 2.21 to KShs 1.44, the second major reduction since originally halving these rates in 2010 from the initial KShs 4.42. Consumers and in particular phone users in Kenya will now be watching keenly, […]
FastJet plans for regional flights appear on the web
FASTJET’S REGIONAL PLANS BECOME KNOWN The African Aviation Tribune has earlier this week published what appears to be FastJet’s planned schedule for the region, covering Entebbe, Nairobi and Zanzibar. The self pronounced low cost carrier, set to commence flight operations later this week, plans according to the AAT website to fly up to four times […]
Gamewatchers Ol Kinyei bags ‘Conservancy of the Year 2012’ award
PORINI’S OL KINYEI IS KENYA’S ‘COMMUNITY CONSERVANCY 2012’ The Eco Warrior Awards in Kenya were founded to recognize efforts, innovations and exceptional achievements for promoting responsible tourism and enhancing tourism sustainability which directly conserves the natural environment linked to local communities through mutual beneficial and equitable partnerships. Nature conservation through community development by tourism is […]
Air Mauritius announces increase in Hong Kong flights from mid 2013
AIR MAURITUS TO ADD THIRD HONG KONG FLIGHT FROM MID 2013 Only days after confirming that Shanghai will be served nonstop and no longer via Kuala Lumpur from next year onwards, did news emerge that Hong Kong will get a third weekly flight effective 02nd July next year. Mauritius tourism sector has warmly welcomed the […]
Ethiopian delays daily Hong Kong flights by 3 weeks
ETHIOPIAN PUSHES ADDITIONAL HONG KONG FLIGHTS TO DECEMBER Information was received that the planned additional flights between Addis Ababa and Hong Kong, due to start earlier this week, have been pushed to now commence on December 14th. From the present 4 flights a week, routing from Addis via Bangkok to Hong Kong, the destination will […]
